PASTOR BILLY BOB

Afraid God won't heal you? Take courage! All these folks were healed - an entire congregation!

Pastor Billy Bob

(Sometimes we need a little levity in life.)

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THE ANCHOR

Into each life some change must fall. I am not referring to loose coins falling out of your pocket when you stand on your head, but rather to the fact that in this lifetime change will fall into your life, often with a sudden and resounding thud. Sometimes you will embrace it, sometimes you will rise up in stubborn opposition to it, and sometimes you might try to flee in terror from it, but it is inevitable that change will come.

Change recently dropped into my life when I lost my mother unexpectedly. I use the word “unexpectedly” because although she was three days shy of her eighty-third birthday, everyone aware of her situation expected her to regain her strength and return home after a short stay in a nursing home.

I awoke early that morning, thinking of Mother and praying for her. The unspoken words, She’s going to be all right, were clear and unmistakable. They brought me peace in those last moments before starting the day. Yet less than three hours later, the wail of the siren grew in volume as I waited in front of the local emergency room and listened to the ambulance speeding toward the hospital.

In God’s scheme of things, Mother is, indeed, “all right” now. It was not, however, the “all right” I assumed. I assumed it meant time for mother-daughter talks, where she would finally talk about herself and her extended family, name the strangers in her photos, and grant me the privilege of serving her in an expanded capacity.

Instead of realizing a lifelong desire of my heart, I was suddenly faced with two weeks in which to clear out her house. She saved everything! Working long hours helped me to deal with the shock and pain. When my older brother’s wife got her first glimpse of the confusion I faced, she said, “This is a one-person job, but there is no way you can finish it in just two weeks.” The few days they visited, we hauled Mother’s things two carloads at a time. Another brother helped where he could, but the disorder was so great that two or more people only created more chaos and so most of the job fell onto my shoulders. Unbelievably, the deadline was met, but I am still recovering from the physical overexertion and emotional stress.

I tossed out mountains of what I hope was trash without anything of value mixed in with it. Still, my home quickly filled with numerous bags, boxes, and various containers of paperwork to be sorted, laundry, and miscellaneous items to find a place to store. All this will keep me busy for many months.

Mother’s death brought major changes into my life and at this moment circumstances do not appear promising to continue investing time in writing stories for the newspaper and to post on www.mercyandpercy.com But with God leading, no experience is wasted and there are no dead ends, only bends in the path and this is definitely a wide bend. I do not know what the future holds or what I will be doing next week or six months from now. My writing “career” might well be ending. If it is, the sense of happiness and achievement derived from this short stint will remain. Hopefully, my ramblings have touched and encouraged a life or two.

Yes, change is inevitable, faith is tested and matured, and storms rage in every life at one time or another. I love the analogy in the song “The Anchor Holds” by Lawrence Chewning and Ray Boltz (© 1994 – Word Music). For those whose anchor is Christ, their anchor will never fail.

The Anchor holds, though the ship is battered.

The Anchor holds, though the sails are torn.

Well I have fallen on my knees,

as I faced the raging sea,

But the Anchor holds, in spite of the storm.

If you are facing change in your own life, trust the Anchor.

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ALL THINGS MUST END

Mother died September 15th. We had two weeks to bury her and clear everything out of her home. This was a monumental task, as she saved everything!

These last few weeks have been hectic! I have barely had time or energy to eat and too much to do to take time to grieve. I intend to take some time now.

I will be making decisions regarding changes in priorities and activities. One of those decisions will be whether to continue with Mercy And Percy or to close it and Jan's Funny Farm down. At this moment, my intention is to close both sites.

Thank you for visiting Mercy And Percy. I hope you have enjoyed the stories posted here.

TAKING A BREAK

It is time to take a break from posting a weekly - okay, from trying to post a weekly story. Sometimes life intervenes unexpectedly. Life is kind of hectic right now.

I'm sure my mother would appreciate it if you remember her in prayer. I know I would. Thanks.

THE BROKEN BAG MYSTERY

Buddy, the hound, howled louder than the voice on the answering machine. Still, I have had a lot of practice distinguishing messages from Buddy’s wails, so I did manage to catch the gist of the message the caller was leaving.

“This is Joe Smith, (not his real name), co-manager, of the (local) Wal-mart. We have received your letter of complaint about our broken bag policy. I don’t understand your letter, but if you will return my call…..”

I finally reached the phone. ”Hello. Did I hear you correctly? Are you sure you have the right number? I haven’t sent a letter of complaint in a long time and I would send an email anyway. I don’t know anything about “broken bags.”

He rattled off my name and address and I began to worry. “I don’t suppose someone using my name and address would be a police matter?” I asked hopefully.

He insisted a copy of a letter of complaint was sent to the local store from Wal-mart headquarters. Before hanging up, I asked if he would please check into the letter and let me know what he learned. “I will. But I still don’t understand why anyone would write a letter about broken bags of dog food.”

Dog food? Including those two little words made a world of difference.

“Wait, a minute. I did send a letter about broken bags of dog food about a month ago, but it wasn’t a complaint. I read in a newsletter that Wal-mart has discontinued donating broken bags of food because some organizations were breaking their agreement to not sell the food. Now all the shelters that depend on donations are being penalized. Readers were asked to write to the Wal-mart CEO and request that the policy be reinstated. That is all explained in the letter. What are you doing with it?” (All Creatures Are Truly Special, Inc. August 2006 newsletter.)

“Oh, that practice was discontinued years ago. We can’t give away pet food. If the food is bad and an animal gets sick, we could be held liable.”

I emailed my contact at All Creatures Are Truly Special, Inc. and repeated what the co-manager told me. She assured me that for many years Wal-mart donated broken bags of pet food to All C.A.T.S. and other groups weekly. The practice was recently discontinued and her local Wal-mart manager suggested she get supporters to write to the company’s CEO.

I would not want to make a literal comparison of Wal-mart to God’s church! But I do see an analogy here

Wal-mart has many stores in the United States but they are all under one CEO, one policymaking board, one umbrella of rules and regulations. It has a national policy on everything from bulletin boards to purchasing supplies. .

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4: 4-6

If there is only one God and one faith, why all the confusion in Christianity today? There are more ideas of God, definitions of faith, and versions of what the Bible teaches than there are Wal-mart stores. Some of these teachings might arise from misunderstandings, but many are deliberate inventions of human greed for money, power and fame.

Perversions of the gospel are not new. Paul wrote in Galatians 1:6-8:

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

The co-manager and I had a laugh, although it was a bit embarrassing at first, to admit I did write the letter to Wal-mart after repeatedly denying it, but I did respond correctly, according to the facts as they were given to me – a “complaint” about broken bags. The manager did not deliberately mislead me, but there are those who deliberately omit or change words and imports in order to preach a different gospel than Paul did.

There is one true Christ Jesus, the Son of God. Is he preached in your church, or is another “Jesus” taught?

There is one true gospel. Have you heard it preached? Don’t turn away from it to something that seems more fun or appealing to the emotions, or to the bank account.

Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. Matthew 24:11, 13

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